Vitamin E

Quoted message said:

http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=126852

This is absolutely flat-out wrong and dangerous. Vitamin E
supplementation has repeatedly been thought to be beneficial but in
every large study of what happens to real patients and their lives,
Vitamin E has failed to be better than placebo and in several instances,
causes small but real harm.

The benefits of the so-called study cited above are not things you will
feel or care about. It is all chemical stuff which you have to
speculate might be good (no proof).

But the harms have been proven. Studies of Vitamin E supplementation
for the prevention of lung cancer in smokers actually was associated
with slightly (repeat, slightly) more cancer. Studies of Vitamin E for
the prevention of coronary artery disease and heart attack showed Vit E
associated with mildly higher rates of disease, not lower.

Please recognize that the whole "anti-oxidant" thing is a great theory
about how we get diseases, but so far it hasn't helped physicians or
patients live longer, better, or healthier.

-- Josh Steinberg MD, Syracuse

If this is the case, why do they still sell Vitamin E suppliments in drug
stores?

"Joshua Steinberg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:1108224844.d36603971819aa5292380916dc1ddebb@teranews...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=126852

This is absolutely flat-out wrong and dangerous. Vitamin E
supplementation has repeatedly been thought to be beneficial but in every
large study of what happens to real patients and their lives, Vitamin E
has failed to be better than placebo and in several instances, causes
small but real harm.

The benefits of the so-called study cited above are not things you will
feel or care about. It is all chemical stuff which you have to speculate
might be good (no proof).

But the harms have been proven. Studies of Vitamin E supplementation for
the prevention of lung cancer in smokers actually was associated with
slightly (repeat, slightly) more cancer. Studies of Vitamin E for the
prevention of coronary artery disease and heart attack showed Vit E
associated with mildly higher rates of disease, not lower.

Please recognize that the whole "anti-oxidant" thing is a great theory
about how we get diseases, but so far it hasn't helped physicians or
patients live longer, better, or healthier.

-- Josh Steinberg MD, Syracuse

"Glenn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If this is the case, why do they still sell Vitamin E suppliments in
drug stores?

For the same reason people sell anything - $$$. Good, bad or
indifferent but I take 400 E a day.

-D

Quoted message said:

If this is the case, why do they still sell Vitamin E suppliments in

drug
stores?

That study many focused on cardio & longevity.
Many of the benefits I heard about concern the organs derived
from the embryo ectoderm, that is skin and nerves.
Such things as reducing environmental skin damage,
reducing aging nerve conditons, etc.
However, I havent read about studies in that area.

Doug Freese said:

"Glenn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If this is the case, why do they still sell Vitamin E suppliments in
drug stores?

For the same reason people sell anything - $$$. Good, bad or
indifferent but I take 400 E a day.

-D

Besides what Doug and Josh said, if you look at the literature on Vit E
and antioxidants, it really is a mixed bag. Fountain of youth claims are
probably akin to snake oil. BUT there have been studies that have shown
benefits for certain age (usually older) and sex (usually female)
categories of athletes they may improve recovery from muscle damage if
taken consistently, that is, not a one-shot supplement just before
exercising. (note all the qualifiers in there)

Vitamin E is supposed to be one that's hard to get from normal
nutrition, but I've not actually checked food values myself. Most
antioxidants can be gotten from fruits and vegetables, although their
antioxidant value (ORAC, which is only a test-tube value) may vary
greatly with the species and where it came from.

Part of what Josh is getting at, I think, is that some studies focus on
things like ORAC values (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), which come
from a chem lab test. It may or may not reflect what happens in a
whole-body situation for individuals where there's all kinds of other
interactions happening. The "improve recovery" comments I made above
were from synthesis of studies done with real people and evaluated
markers after trials. But many of these studies have a small sample size
so still need to be taken in appropriate context.

Caveat: I've only read the secondary literature, not the primary.

Dot
last night's bedtime reading just happened to be antioxidants

--
"Dream Big, and dare to fail." --- Norman Vaughn
who was with Byrd in Antarctica and whose 99th birthday was Dec 19, 2004

"Dot" <dot.h@#duh?att.net> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dot
last night's bedtime reading just happened to be antioxidants

I'm sending you a copy of Playgirl for bedtime reading. 😉

-Doug

Doug Freese said:

"Dot" <dot.h@#duh?att.net> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dot
last night's bedtime reading just happened to be antioxidants

I'm sending you a copy of Playgirl for bedtime reading. 😉

-Doug

Is DK in there? 😉

Dot

--
"Dream Big, and dare to fail." --- Norman Vaughn
who was with Byrd in Antarctica and whose 99th birthday was Dec 19, 2004